the scheduled launch time due to bad weather. Following launch, Shin'en separated from the carrier rocket into a heliocentric orbit. It was planned to fly past Venus six or seven months into its mission. Signals from the craft were briefly detected after launch, but contact was then lost. The last signals were received at 15:43 UTC on 21 May 2010, when the spacecraft was from Earth. UNISEC explains that Shin'en is the first student spacecraft to pass over the Van Allen radiation belt. Shin'en was expected to be near Venus as of December 2010. See also List of missions to Venus References Spacecraft launched in 2010 Student satellites Japanese space probes Spacecraft launched by H-II rockets Derelict satellites in heliocentric orbit